New Words ‘under God’ in Texas Pledge Win in Court against Atheist Attack

“An atheist couple from Carrollton filed suit against Governor Perry and the state of Texas over the new version of the Texas state pledge, which includes the words ‘ One State under God.’The judge denied their request for an injunction in this first stage of the lawsuit.Although students in school districts are allowed to leave the room or remain silent, Mr. and Mrs. David Croft argue their children are still injured by having to hear, or leave the room to avoid hearing the Texas pledge.Citizens across the country have grown weary of these attacks on the religious heritage and nature of this country, as evidenced by the Texas Legislature’s passing of the new Texas Pledge and the new display of In God We Trust in the state House and Senate.Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott, who is defending the pledge alongside State Solicitor Ted Cruz, lays out a strong argument in the Dallas Morning News”

From Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott and the Dallas Monring News.

Greg Abbott: Honor the Texas flag; I pledge allegiance to thee, Texas, one state under God, one and indivisible

Those four words are new to the state pledge of allegiance, and, despite protests, they should stay

10:50 AM CDT on Wednesday, August 29, 2007

“As young Texans return to school this week, they are beginning their day by pledging allegiance to our state and nation. As they recite the Texas Pledge of Allegiance, they have four new words to say: “One state under God.” And those words should sound familiar; Americans have been saying the same in the U.S. pledge for more than 50 years.Unfortunately, a North Texas couple is suing the state in an attempt to overturn our state pledge. Professed atheists, they object to their children having to watch and listen as their classmates “engage in a ritual proclaiming that there is a God and that Texas is ‘one state under God.’ “As the state’s lawyer, I am committed to vigorously defending our pledge. And so far, we are succeeding. A federal district judge yesterday rebuffed the couple’s attempt to remove the phrase while the lawsuit proceeds through the court system.America’s founders crafted the First Amendment to guarantee the individual’s right to believe or not to believe in God, but that protection for the individual does not banish God from the public square. Quite the contrary. U.S. and Texas history clearly shows the founders seeking Divine guidance as they fashioned our system of government. And they publicly acknowledged that influence at every turn.

The 56 signers of the U.S. Declaration of Independence appealed to “Nature’s God,” the “Supreme Judge of the world” and “divine Providence” and famously stated that all people are “endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights.” These acknowledgments of the Almighty continued unabated well into the early years of the Republic.”

You obviously did not read the article. It is voluntary. No one is being imposed on that God exists. By the way who says that religious beliefs should be part of the “private sphere” and not “public sphere”? Whatever that means anyway. The founders of America certainly did not. Everyone has a particular worldview that acts as the grid through which they see all of life. You cannot separate yourself from this. Whether you are a Christian or a naturalist.

There has never been any actual PROOF of a higher being. Just spectulation.
Want proof that whatever you believe in is bogus?
If you were born and raised in North Korea, chances are you wouldn’t believe in what you do now. If you were born and raised in Egypt, I seriously doubt you’d have the same beliefs.
Religion is a matter of what your raised on. It has nothing to do with actual facts or evidence.

My question to you is how do you know there has never been any actual proof of a higher being? Have you studied all of the evidence for every religion and arrived at that conclusion? Of course not. So your comment is false.

There actually is a tremendous amount of proof for the God of Christianity. I can provide some books for you to read that provide plenty of evidence if you are a serious seeker. Just let me know.

The argument you provide is an old one that is false. Yes, if I lived in India, for example, than odds are I would be a Hindu. But, the phenomenon of differing religious beliefs doesn’t mean they are all true (pluralism). They all make certain truth claims that can be tested through archaeological, scientific, historical and other means. And the truth claims for the various religions are mutually exclusive.

Further, simply because there are many political alternatives in the world (monarchy, fascism, communism, democracy, etc.) doesn’t mean someone growing up in the midst of them is unable to see that some forms of government are better than others.

To turn your argument on you – Where did you grow up? Why aren’t you a member of the major religion of your homeland (since you are obviously an atheist)? If we are culturally conditioned regarding our religious beliefs, then why should you think your view is less arbitrary or conditioned?

I’m curious what your thoughts about the separation of church and state would be if instead of school children stating “one state under God” the words were “one state under Allah”. Or what if “one state under Yaweh.” Or one state under Brahma.”

Not all values/tenants/beliefs of Christianity are exclusive to nor sourced to Jesus of Nazareth or the prophets of Judaism. In fact, I would submit to you that there are religious traditions much older than Judaism and Christianity that were and still are espousing many of the values this country holds dear. My point is that Christianity does not hold a monopoly nor is it the original source of moral, ethical behavior. Given that premise, the God of Christianity should share equal billing in the public square with older religious traditions that have been teaching the same values.

Hi Chris… sorry for the long delay in replying to your question. I completely agree with you that there is a source of moral standards. I just don’t believe The Divine is done manifesting Truth. With that in mind, I don’t believe The Truth resides confined to one book or set of books as in the Christian Holy Book, the Torah, The Upanishads, Vedic Scripture or Buddhist Sacred Texts. I believe it is constantly and still being delivered to us through any means possible that will resonate to us. (i.e. songs, poetry, speeches, sermons, art, etc)

I am Unitarian Universalist. We draw on teachings from all the world religions. Some members are Christian, some are Buddhist, some are Pagan, some are Humanist, and so on.

I am a Deist. I believe in a Higher Power… God if you prefer that term. I believe God is in and outside everything in the universe. I don’t believe The Divine is a man or came to earth as a man. From my Deist perspective I don’t believe God manipulates human activity nor can The Divine be manipulated (such as some believe prayer can do). On occasion, I imagine there is a little nudge but I don’t think it is a common practice of The Divine.

Thanks for asking Chris. Hope all is well with you.
Blessings,
JulesUU Deist in Texas

If you believe there is a source of objective moral standards that is universal to all people in all places and at all times – for example, it is always wrong to molest a child – then where do you think the objective moral standards come from?

How can you believe in so many different religions that clearly contradict each other? It is not possible.

What exactly do you believe as a Deist? Do you believe God created the world? Do you believe in miracles? That Jesus is a historical figure? The Incarnation? The Resurrection? What do you think went wrong with this world in terms of all the evil and suffering? Are you a sinner? How can this world be fixed? It sounds like you are a pantheist from your statement– “I believe God is in and outside everything in the universe”? If God is in everything that how do you reconcile and infinite God with a finite world?

It’s called faith, Chris. You just believe. There is no absolute proof that everything in the Bible is true… you just believe… even against the contradictions… even against concepts that are fundamentally wrong like promoting the ownership of other human beings as slaves or stoning your daughter to death even though it says don’t kill.

Same with me… I know there are common Truths among all the world religious traditions (like; Don’t kill each other. Respect your parents. Love one another) and I have faith those common concepts are Truth. I think there are shades of gray though also and so these concepts are not absolute.

But you know… when you start worrying about the details like how many times you should pray, you’re supposed to face east when you pray, loving, consenting adults shouldn’t physically show their love until married, don’t eat pork, women keep your hair long, women keep your mouth shut, I got raped by my uncle and am now pregnant but I feel I shouldn’t have an abortion because some guy behind a pulpit is telling me I shouldn’t… when you worry about the details you get too far beyond the big picture and into minutia and that just causes problems, anger and distraction from what’s really important.

And what’s really important? Right here. Unfortunately that picture is different for every person and that’s why discussions like this happen. That’s the rub. How do you do the first one and still do the second one without killing each other for disagreeing. 🙂

ok, answering your third paragraph of questions.
1) Belief as a Diest. For the most part i believe this: http://www.deism.com/
2) Did God create stuff. yes, through the laws of physics, which He created as well.
3) belief in miracles. no.
4) Historical Jesus. yes.
5) Incarnation of God through Jesus i assume is what you meant. No, i don’t believe he is any more divine than you or me. He was certainly more evolved spiritually though.
6) Reincarnation. yes
7) why is there evil in the world? Because some people are jerks. They have distanced themselves from The Divine and aren’t listening to what they should be doing.
8) Am i sinner? Yes, in that I am not living up to my highest potential. I’ll get there though, eventually. See answer to #6
9) How can this world be fixed? We gotta let go of our egos.
10) Not sure I understand this one… are you asking how do I settle or put together an infinite God and a finite world. Not sure if that’s what you’re asking but I’ll answer that. I don’t believe God is that active in what’s happening with us. Imagine someone on top of a hill and they push a boulder off the top and they’re watching it as it rolls. He’s not stopping it, just watching roll. Probably not the best analogy but you kinda get an idea.

One more time Chris… sorry about the long response. Felt obliged to answer all your questions though.

Peace,
Rob

p.s. – (by the way… i’m a pretty soft spoken person. sometimes written responses can come across as being snide, snarky, rude, etc. I hope you don’t think that from my writing. My comments aren’t intended to be disrespectful of you or your spiritual path)